Biden administration seeks additional funding for energy transition in Latin America

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it is working to deliver more money to fight climate change in Latin American countries, but did not set specific goals for many of the new initiatives. 

Administration officials told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. would work with regional development banks to try to mobilize climate financing for countries in the region.

The administration also announced that it would provide $12 million for Brazil, Colombia and Peru to help protect the Amazon rainforest and prevent deforestation. 

And Vice President Harris is expected to launch a framework specifically directed at helping Caribbean nations by increasing access to financing and helping clean energy project development.

An official declined to say how much funding the U.S. would try to deliver to the Caribbean in a late Wednesday press call.

Climate finance has long been a sticking point between developed and developing countries, as developed countries have failed in the past to live up to their commitments to help the developing world pay for their energy transition. 

Developing countries, meanwhile, have argued that they are owed more from developed countries because developed countries have contributed more to climate change over the years and because many developing countries are likely to face worse impacts from heat waves, sea level rise and climate-fueled storms. 

President Biden arrived in California on Wednesday for the Summit of the Americas, bringing together leaders from North America, Central America and South America for discussions about economic prosperity, climate change, the migration crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.